Second largest US press publisher is a bank

It is accepted that Gannett is the biggest US newspaper publisher but it transpires that the second largest press owner is now a bank, JP Morgan Chase.

It has loaned billions of dollars to various media companies such as Tribune, Freedom Communications and Journal Register only to see those investments go belly-up and having little alternative but to exchange equity for that bad debt.

For example, JP Morgan held about $1bn of Tribune's debt and now that the bankruptcy judge has approved the company's reorganisation the bank will have a major equity stake. Including Tribune, the bank has a portfolio of 53 newspapers and 31 TV stations.